Iran’s IRGC Fires 12 Ballistic Missiles at US Muwaffaq Salti Airbase in Jordan

The US and Iran exchanged strikes across the Middle East for a second consecutive day, with US Central Command saying it completed a wave of "self-defense strikes" targeting military, surveillance and radar sites in southern Iran.

Tehran responded with a round of strikes targeting US military assets across Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, and Iran's foreign ministry said the overnight attacks violated the two-month-old ceasefire and made it "practically meaningless."

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Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps said it fired ballistic missiles at a US command centre in Jordan and that it destroyed "a large number" of US fighter jets and "facilities" after firing 12 ballistic missiles at the Muwaffaq Salti Airbase.

Bahrain’s interior ministry said air raid sirens sounded early on Wednesday and that falling shrapnel from intercepted Iranian drones damaged homes and vehicles in Manama and Hamad Town, while an 11-year-old girl was treated for a "minor injury."

Kuwait’s Army posted on X that its anti-air defence systems intercepted "hostile aerial targets," after Kuwait said it temporarily closed its airspace due to the Iranian attacks before reopening it early on Thursday.

Iran’s foreign ministry said responsibility for the "extremely serious consequences of this criminal act" lay with the leaders of the US, while the BBC reported Iran’s IRGC said it had fired ballistic missiles at a US command centre in Jordan and state media reported explosions around Tehran and Bandar Abbas.

In Jordan, Jordanian state media reported 20 missiles had been intercepted and shot down by the country's air defence systems and air force, citing an unnamed military official, and said the missiles were fired towards Azraq in central Jordan "without any human casualties or material damage".

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Bahrain’s interior ministry said the attacks resulted in a minor injury to an 11-year-old girl and burning of vehicles, while Kuwait said its air defence systems were "intercepting hostile aerial targets".

The Jerusalem Post framed the escalation as Iran’s retaliation for US strikes, citing Iranian media that the IRGC targeted the Ali Al Salem Air Base in Kuwait early Wednesday morning and warned it was ready to deliver a "crushing and decisive" response to any further US attack.

The Jerusalem Post also cited Axios Global Affairs Correspondent Barak Ravid, who said a US official told him that four ballistic missiles and several more drones were fired by Iran at US bases in Bahrain, Kuwait, and Jordan.

Beyond the battlefield claims, Iran announced closure of the Strait of Hormuz after US strikes, with Al Jazeera reporting the IRGC declared the waterway "closed until further notice" and said all traffic would be shot at.

“Iran announces closure of Strait of Hormuz following US strikes Iran has again claimed attacks on United States military bases in Bahrain, Kuwait and Jordan, and targeted two vessels in the Strait of Hormuz in retaliation for renewed waves of US attacks on the country”

Al Jazeera

The BBC said the US and Israel launched wide-ranging strikes on Iran on 28 February, and it added that Iran effectively closing the Strait of Hormuz followed those moves, with the route carrying around 20% of the world’s oil and liquefied natural gas.

Al Jazeera reported the IRGC said it hit two oil tankers attempting to “to illegally pass through” the Strait of Hormuz, while Centcom said "commercial ships are continuing to transit in and out of the Strait of Hormuz."

Fortune India said oil prices surged by more than $2 per barrel after Iran announced the complete closure of the Strait of Hormuz, and it cited Rystad Energy estimating that around 11.8 million barrels per day (bpd) of oil production across six Gulf countries had been disrupted.

In the background of the military cycle, the BBC noted that in April the US and Iran agreed a ceasefire initially meant to last for two weeks, but intermittent fire continued and recent efforts to broker a peace agreement stalled as attacks grew more frequent.